Fourteen million civilians are on the edge of famine in Yemen. Starvation is on the horizon, warns WFP's chief David Beasley. What he has seen during a recent visit to the country is "the stuff of nightmares, horror, deprivation and misery". UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy Martin Griffiths is therefore at pains to bring the conflict parties to a negotiating table. "We as women have the highest stake in peace," vows civil society leader Rasha Jarhum.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Yemen is no longer "the forgotten war" that it has long been, Special Envoy for the UN Secretary-General, Martin Griffiths has told the 15-nation Security Council. This is underlined, among others, by the fact that the United Nations plans to convene peace talks on Yemen soon after receiving firm assurances from the conflict parties that they will attend negotiations in Sweden.

Europe Should Promote a Regional Security Mechanism in the Middle East

Viewpoint by Dr Tytti Erästö *

European powers deserve credit for their efforts to maintain the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but their current coercive approach to Iran's missiles is counterproductive, writes Dr Tytti Erästö, a researcher in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme, in a topical backgrounder published on 15 November, 2018 on SIPRI's website. Following are extensive excerpts from the original article which wa: https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2018/dissecting-international-concerns-about-irans-missiles - The Editor

TORONTO (IDN) – An area almost the size of Australia – up to 724 million hectares in all – will be required by 2050 for cultivating bioenergy, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Platform on Climate Change (IPCC) on limiting climate warming to 1.5C.

Models foresee that demand for bioenergy to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels could cause a 10- to 30-fold increase in green energy-related land use in years to come, adding crushing pressure on habitat for plants and animals and undermining the essential diversity of species on Earth.

The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) is an organisation composed of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states: 48 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 from the Caribbean and 15 from the Pacific. All of them, save Cuba, are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement, also known as the "ACP-EC Partnership Agreement" which binds them to the European Union.

NEW YORK (IDN) – One hundred years after the end of the First World War, which was triggered by a crisis in the Balkans, peace in the region is nowhere within reach yet. This has been highlighted by a senior United Nations official in his regular briefing to the UN Security Council on November 14.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Zahir Tanin, told the Security Council that President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and President Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo have confirmed their "mutual intention" to continue working towards a negotiated settlement but the situation on the ground remains marred by "frequent adversarial actions," with real consequences for people on the ground.

BERLIN | BONN (IDN) – More than 30 countries hosting African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Leopard and Lion have agreed on establishing a work programme to guide their conservation actions over the next coming years. The move known as the African Carnivore Initiative, emerged from a meeting from November 5 to 8, 2018 in Bonn, the capital of former West Germany.

The following are extensive extracts from the opening address by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, who is the Chairman of the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) since 2008, at the 13th GFHS Annual Session inBangkok on 30 October 2018. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – We live at a time of unprecedented, rapid, irreversible urbanization. Beginning in 2008, for the first time, half of humanity is now living in towns and cities … but this dramatic transition is far from over. In reality the beginning of a new urban era is being felt. It is projected that globally urbanization levels will rise dramatically in the next 35 years to reach 70 percent by 2050 when the world population is expected to hit 9 billion.

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The Intra-ACP GCCA Plus Programme, which has several success stories to tell, is supporting 79 members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in preparing for the UN Climate Change conference in December in Katowice, Poland.

The ACP Secretariat and the Programme hosted a Joint Policy Dialogue (JPD) at the ACP House in Brussels on November 5, 2018. The JPD showcased the findings of a draft ACP report analysing the implementation status of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of ACP countries.

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Reacting to the radio interview by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to mark Armistice Day, in which he was reported as saying, “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America… We need a true European army”, President Donald Trump blew a fuse. He tweeted: “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting.”

VIENNA (IDN) – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Afghanistan, Japan and the Russian Federation have signed a declaration, highlighting the new development of the Trilateral Cooperation to support counter narcotics efforts of the Government of Afghanistan, according to UN Information Service (UNIS). The declaration also gives an overview of the past achievements.

This cooperation was initiated in September 2012 with the delivery of counter narcotics training provided to law enforcement officials from Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries of Central Asia, conducted at the All-Russian Advanced Training Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, or the 'Domodedovo Training Centre' with the financial and technical support of Japan.

PARIS (IDN) – "Donor countries have not followed through on their 2015 promise to expand development finance flows," said OECD Development Co-operation Director Jorge Moreira da Silva, launching a landmark report at the Paris Peace Forum.

He was commenting on an important finding of the report that external finance to poor countries is declining, despite a promise by the international community three years ago to increase development finance flows, in particular through private investment.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons – a group of diverse faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world – have called for urgent action for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

"As people of faith, we advocate for the right of all people to live in security and dignity; we seek to heed the commands of conscience and the call to justice; we are united in our determination to protect the vulnerable and to exercise the stewardship that will safeguard Earth for present and future generations," says the group in the public statement submitted in October to the UN General Assembly's First Committee in New York.

NEW YORK (IDN) – "If one had to pick a single word to describe this year's First Committee, contentious would be a reasonable contender. The increased volume – in all senses of the word – of accusations and denials has descended as close to name calling as diplomatic forums get," says Ray Acheson, the Director of Reaching Critical Will in an editorial in November 5 issue of The First Committee Monitor 2018.

She is referring to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security which met from October 8 to November 9, 2018 in several sessions.

GENEVA (IDN) – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a serious global development challenge. As the year three of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comes to a close, evidence shows that the international community is not on track to meet a vital goal. This is a disconcerting perspective because NCDs are causing far more deaths and disability than any other group of diseases, according to experts.

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – As the United Nations Global Compact fractures, migration has become a key issue in negotiations between the European Union (EU) and 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) which kicked off in September 2018 to hammer out a successor to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement set to expire in 2020.

The ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, signed in Cotonou, Benin, on June 23, 2000, was concluded for a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020. It is the most comprehensive partnership agreement between developing countries and the EU. In 2010, ACP-EU cooperation was adapted to new challenges such as climate change, food security, regional integration, State fragility and aid effectiveness.